Shelf Life — Legends and Lattes is a Warm, Cozy Little Snack
GDB Life comes at you fast, and these past few years have come with a whole lot of extra life stuff to deal with. So it’s been a bit of a while since I’ve actually read much of anything, much less read anything to completion, and much less even than that read anything that’s left me with strong enough feelings to write another one of these.
But then I saw this book on a little shelf in a thrift shop a couple months ago offering “high fantasy and low stakes,” and it looked like the kind of chill, cozy, light read that might lull me back into reading more regularly.
The jury’s still out on that point, because busy life things are still happening and I only just finished this book; but regardless, Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree definitely delivers on the “slow down, take a breath, have a nice time” vibes it was giving. It is, in a word, charming.
The story follows Viv, a freshly retired orc barbarian who’s decided to swap her greatsword for a bean grinder and get away from the bloody, hectic life of a professional adventurer. To this end, she rolls up in the city of Thune with a nest egg and a plan: introduce the townsfolk to this wonderful gnomish concoction she fell in love with on her travels, a liquid hug in a mug called “coffee.”
Read more at your leisure